Machine for placing concrete and the like



Feb. 5, 1952 C, JACKSON 2,584,459

MACHINE FOR PLACING CONCRETE AND THE LIKE Filed Jan, 6, 1947 2SHEETSSHEET l Feb. 5, 1952 c. JACKSON 2,584,459

MACHINE FOR PLACING CONCRETE AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 6, 1947' 2 SHEETS-Smm 2 //V VE N TOR. Cora/II! Jackson EY www? F1T- A TTORNEY PatentedFeb. 5, 1952 MACHnvE Foa PLACING CONCRETE y y AND THE LIKE CorwillJackson, Ludington, Mich., assignor to- Jackson Vibrators, Inc.,Luding-ton, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application January 6,19471, Serial No. 720,364

13 Claims.

K This invention relates to machines for placing concrete and the like.

' Thelmain objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a machine for placing concrete and other materials byvibration and for screeding the same which is highly efficient and atthe Ysame time adapted for manual manipulation with a minimum of eiiorton the part of the operator.

Second, to provide a machine having these advantages in which thevibratory screed member is vibrated with substantially uniform amplitudethroughout the length thereof.

Third, to provide a placement machine adapted for the subjection ofconcrete at high frequency vibration and the effective screedingthereof.

Fourth, to provide a machine having these advantages in which thevibratory member is adapted to rearwardly support a substantial mass ofconcrete as it is advanced against the same and one in which thevibrations act to automatically advance the machine.

Fifth, to provide a machine of the class described employing arelatively long thin vibratory member, such for example as a, wood plankin which the vibrations are of substantiallyuniform amplitude throughoutthe vibratory member.

Sixth, lto provide a simple and effective means for harmonizing thevibrations throughout the length of the vibratory member andcounteracting the damping effect which tends to reduce thevibrations inthe lower. portion of the vibratory -member as it is advanced againstthe material treated. l Objects relating. to details and economies ofthe invention will appear'from the description to follow. The inventionis defined and pointed out in the claims;

Prefrlzrredembodiments of the invention are illustrated in Vtheaccompanying drawings, in which: x

- VFig. 1 'is a plan view of a machine embodying the invention, thetendency forvportions thereof to vibrate at dierent amplitudes ascompared to other portions 'being indicated by dotted lines. Figk2 'isan 'enlarged fragmentary front elevation."

vFig.'3-i s an enlarged fragmentary view partially in sectionon thebroken line 3-3 of Fig.`l.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevation of the vibratory member and thevibration producing motor with a portion of the motor broken away andsectioned to show the unbalanced rotor, the desirable-uniformity ofvibrations at the top and bottom being indicated by the dotted crossedlines.

Fig. 5is aview corresponding to that of Fig. si, the dotted linesindicating the tendency of the top portion-of the vibratory member tovibrate with excessive amplitudewhile thevibrations in the lower portionthereof are'dampened or the amplitude reduced very materially by theload of the material treated as the vibrator member is advanced againstthe same.

Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to that of Fig. 5 with the counterweightor synchronizing weight applied to the vibratory member to 'counteractthe tendency of the upper part of the vibratory member to vibrate withundesired amplitude or while the lower portion has insuicient amplitudeof vibration.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating details of the mountingof the wheel supports or wheel carrying brackets on the vibratorymember.

It is frequently desirable to provide vibratory screeds of the typeillustrated of considerable length, running up to twenty feet or more.It involves quite an expense to crate a machine having a screed of thislength or even of substantially less length for shipment. Wood planksmay be used and these are usually available where the machine is to beused. However, these planks differ not only in dimensions but in qualityand it is found that there is a substantial variation in the amplitudeof the vibrations between the vibration producing means of the screedand also that when the vibratory screed is advanced against ya mass ofconcrete, for example, the mass deadens or dampens the vibrations at thebottom of the screed where it is required for efcient operation, the topof the screed in effect .pivotally vibrating around the lower portionthereof.

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide a structure ofthis character in which the amplitude of vibrations is substantiallyuniform throughout the length of the screed and also from top to bottomthereof resulting in vibration of the bottom portion of the screed withsufficient amplitude to effectively vibrate the material that is beingplaced. As shown in Fig. 1 in which the vibration indicating lines aregreatly exaggerated it will be seen that there are relatively dead zonesbetween the vibrating means and the zones of greater vibration and inFig. 5 I have illustrated by dotted lines the dampening effect on thevibrations at the-bottom of the screed when it is advanced against the.mass treated.

Another advantage of the structure is that the machine is automaticallyadvanced-that is, the vibrations of the screed propel the machineforwardly. There is some tendency for that to occur even where thevibrations are not equalized but the forward traveling of the machine isgreatly enhanced by the structure which results in producing vibrationsof uniform amplitude throughout the vibratory member.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawingscomprises the viand the ends of the screeds. other Yzones perhaps havingan excessive amplitude of vibration. I have attempted to illustrate thatby dotted lines in Fig. 1. Further than that, the load of the materialtreated bearing on the lower portion of the vibratory screed dampens theamplitude Y of vibration of the lower part thereof so that the upperpart Vibrates with excessive ampliforwardly directed edge of the nosepiece tends somewhat to shear 01T the concrete or other material placedand minimizes the tendency to lift the vibratory screed.

The vibratory Vscreed is supported in an upright position by means ofthe pairs of front and rear roller-like wheels and 6 which are adaptedto travel on forms, not illustrated. The front wheels are carried by thewheel supporting brackets 1. The rear wheels are carried by the wheelsupporting brackets 8. These brackets are resiliently connected to thevibratory member by shock absorbing or vibration absorbing connectionsdesignated generally by the'numeral 9 which consist of the pairs of lugsI and II having resilient blocks I2 secured thereto, the purpose beingto provide effective supporting means for the wheel supporting bracketswhile minimizing the vibrations transferred thereto from the vibratorymember.

To relieve these vibration absorbing connections of a considerableportion of torsional stress, the front and rear wheel supportingbracketsare connected by the arms I3, the arms of which..

are secured to the Wheel supporting brackets, the yokes extending abovethe vibratory member. The details of bolting the several yparts togetherare not described as it is believed that it will be clear from thedrawings.

The front wheels are provided with a U-shaped guard I4 of substantialrigidity, the arms of the guardbeing secured to the front wheel brackets'i with the bight substantially spaced in advance of the front wheel 5,the inner arm I5 of the guard being extended rearwardly to lap upon thefront side of the vibratory member, see Fig. 1.

In the embodiment illustrated, the motor I6 is mounted on the rear sideof the vibratory member and is provided with a rotor I1 having anunbalancing weight I8, the axis of the rotor being disposedlongitudinally of the vibratory member. This motor I6 is disposedcentrally relative to the length of the vibratory member and alsocentrally relative `to its vertical dimensions. Y Y

It Iwill, be understood that I do not in Fig. 1

make any attempt to show Athe parts in their relative dimensions orproportions and, as a matter of fact, the vibratory member would be muchlonger in proportion to the other parts than is illustrated. Theelectrical connections for the motor are not illustrated.

As stated, the vibratory member may be formed of a wood plank and if itis of suilicient and uniform width and thickness and of moderate lengththe vibrations from end to end are of substantially uniform amplitude.However, as stated, it is frequently desirable to provide vibratorymembers of considerable length, eighteen to twenty feet or more, forexample, and the most satisfactory material is not usually available.The result is that in use the vibratory member does not vibrate withuniform amplitude from end to `end and there are usually what might becalled dead zones betweenthe vibrating means tude, as illustrated inFig. 5.

To counteract this advance in amplitude of vibration from both causesand to synchronize or equalize the vibrations throughout the vibratorymember, I provide two or more counterbalancing weights I9 which aresecurely clamped upon the vibratory member adjacent the top thereof bymeans of the clamps 20 which are in the form of angled arms extendingfrom the weights and carrying the clamping screws 2I which are adjustedto clamp the vibratory member opposite the weights, as shown in Fig. 3.These weights are desirably mounted in longitudinally spaced relationrelative to the vibrating motor and desirably somewhat short of thepoint of greatest amplitude or vibration in the zones indicated by thedotted lines 22 in Fig. 1, these `being mounted at the top ofthe vibra'-tory member throughout the tendency for excessive amplitude vibrationindicated by the dotted lines 23 in Fig. 5 which, as stated, resultsfrom the dampening of the vibrations in the lower part of the screedmember by the materialtreated so that the vibrations becomesubstantially of uniform amplitude from top to bottom las is vin'-dicated by the dotted lines 24 in Fig. 6. This results in a highlysatisfactory vibratory memberv even when formed of relatively lightstock and as the vibration counterbalancing weights are adjustable theymay be located in the position to get the most effective results and inposition required by the particular vibratory member, considering itslength and inherent qualities.

The vibratory member is held in its upright position by the wheels andis free to'travel along the forms under `its own impetus. However, it isdesirable to control the same and move it back and forth or to controlits speed of advancement and perhaps add manual power to its advancementunder certain conditions. To accomplish this, I provide the handles 25and 26 which are the same except that the handle 26 has a control switch21 mounted thereon. lThe connections from the control switch to theVmotor lare not illustrated.

The handles `25 and 26 are swivelly mounted at 21I on the supports 28which are in turn rotatably mounted on the rear wheel brackets orsupports 8. 'Ihis permits the positioning of the handles as may bedesired for convenientmanipulation.

Sometimes it is desired to tilt themachine on the rear wheels 6 and toaccomplish this I provide pairs of facing hooks 29 `with which thehandle may be selectively engaged to permit the lifting of the machineor tilting cof the lmachine on the rear wheels and the manipulation ofthe machine while. so tilted. The hooks are xedly secured to the arms I3extendingupwardly from the wheel supporting brackets 1 and 8 as shown inFigs. l, 2 and 3.

I have illustrated and described my'lnvention in a very practicalcommercial embodiment thereof. I have not attempted to illustrate -ordescribe other embodiments or adaptations as it is believed that thisdisclosure will enable those skilled in the art to .embody or adapt theinvention as may-be desired.

. .Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a .machine of the class described, the Vcombination of anelongated plank-shaped vibratory member of vwood disposed verticallyedgewise, said vibratory member constituting means for supportingforwardly thereof a substantial mass of material treated as it isadvanced against the same, a motor provided with an unbalanced rotormounted on the rear side and centrally of the vibratory. member withits-axis .disposed longitudinally thereof,front and rear wheelsupporting brackets resiliently mounted on the frontand rear sides ofsaid vibratory-member adjacent the, endsv thereof, wheels carried bysaid brackets and acting to support said vibratory member .in uprightposition, and weights disposed adjacent the upper edge of the vibratorymember provided with clamps for adjustably securing them adjacent theupper edge ofthe vibratory member, the weights being supportingiycarried by said vibratory member be'- tween the rotor and the oppositeends of the vibratory member and in substantially spaced relation fromsaid rotor and opposite ends to counteract the tendency of portions ofthe vibratory member to vibrate with greater amplitude than otherportions thereof and to counteract ther vibration dampening eiect of thematerial treated as the vibratory member is advanced against the same. n

v2. In a machine ofthe class described, the

combination of an elongated plank-shaped vibratory member of wooddisposed vertically vibratory member adjacent the ends thereof,

-wheels carried by said brackets and acting to support said lvibratorymember in upright position, handles, means swingably connecting saidhandles to the rear brackets for vertical and horizontal swingingadjustment of said handles, and pairs of oppositely facing upwardlyprojecting hooks beneath which said handles may be selectively engagedfor tilting the assembly rearwardly on the rear wheels, said hooksvbeing supportingly carried by said wheel supporting brackets.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of an elongatedplank-shaped vibratory member of wood disposed vertically edgewise, saidvibratory member constituting means for supporting forwardly thereof asubstantial mass of material treated as it is advanced against the same,said vibratory member being provided with a shoe of angle sectionsecured to the lower edge thereof with .the vertical arm of the shoe onthe rear side of the vibratory member, said 'vibratory member alsohaving a metal nose piece separate from said shoe secured to the frontside of the vibratory member adjacent its lower edge, the lower portionof the nose piece extending downwardly and forwardly, the lower edge ofthe nose piece being. rdisposed forwardly of the forward edge of thehorizontal arm of the shoe to provide a shearing edge, a motor providedwith an unbalancedvrotor mounted on the rear side and centrally ofthevibratory member with its axis disposed longitudinally thereof, frontand rear wheel supporting brackets resiliently mounted on the front andrear sides of said vibratory member adjacent the ends thereof, andwheels carried by said brackets and acting to support said vibratorymember in upright position.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of an elongatedplank-shaped vibratory member of wood disposedvertically edgewise, saidvibratory membery constituting means for supporting forwardly thereof asubstantial mass of material treated as it is advanced against the same,a motorprovlded with an unbalanced rotor vmounted on the vibratorymember with its axis disposed longitudinally thereof, front and rearwheel supporting brackets resiliently ,connected to said vibratorymember adjacent the ends thereof, wheels carriedby said brackets andacting to support said vibratory vmember in upright position, andweights mounted'on the vibratory member adjacent the upper edge andbetween the rotor and the opposite ends of the vibratory member and insubstantially spaced relation from said rotor and opposite ends tosubstantially counteract the tendency of portions of the vibratorymemb'er to vibrate with greater amplitude than other portions thereofand to lcounteract the vibration restraining effect of the thrust ofmaterial treated as the vibratory member is advanced against the same.5. In a machine of the class described, the combinati'o'n of anelongated wood plank-shaped vibratory member disposed verticallyedgewise, said vibratory member constituting means for supportingforwardly thereof a substantial mass of material treated as it isadvanced against the same, a rotor provided with an unbalancing weightmounted on the rear side of said vibratory member centrally thereof andwith its axis disposed `longitudinally thereof, front and rear wheelsupporting brackets mounted on said vibratory member adjacent the endsthereof, there being vibration absorbing means between said brackets andsaid vibratory member, wheels on said brackets, and handles swingablymounted Von the rear wheel brackets, said vibratory member having hooksxedly associated therewith, said handles being swingable to a positionbeneath said hooks for retaining engagement therewithffor tilting theapparatus on the rear wheels.

6. In a machine ofthe class described, the combination of an elongatedplank-shaped vibratory member disposed vertically edgewise, saidvibratory membervconstituting means for supporting forwardly thereof asubstantial mass of material treated as it is advanced against the same,a lrotor provided with an unbalancing weight mounted on said vibratorymember with its axis disposed horizontally thereof, means for supportingsaid vibratory member in upright position whereby it'tends to travelforwardly unassente the impulses of its vibration, said supporting meansincluding travelingsupports and means connecting said traveling supportsto said vibra-` tory Imember, Aand weights vmounted on the vibratorymember between `said rotor and the oppositegends of the vibratory memberandl in substantially spaced relation from said rotor and 8 supports andmeans connecting said traveling supports to .said vibratory member, anda weight adjustably secured to the vibratory member in spaced relationfrom said vibratory means and one of the opposite ends of said vibratingymem v ber at a zone thereof tending to vibrate 'at an opposite ends toreduce tendency of Apor-tions `of the vibratory member to vibrate withgreater amplitude than other portions thereof.

e. In a machine of the class described. the

combination of an elongated relatively thin vibratory member disposedvertically edgewise, said "vibratory member constituting means forsupporting forwardly thereof a substantial mass l of material treated asit is advanced against the same, means for vibrating said vibratorymember 'at high frequency, means for supporting said vibratory member inupright position whereby it tends to travel forwardly under the impulsesof A its vibrations, said supporting means' including traveling supportsand means connecting said traveling supports to said vibratory member,and

a Weight adjustably secured to the vibratory member and disposedadjacent the upper edge thereof for reducing the tendency of the upperportion of the vibratory member to vibrate with greater amplitude thanthe lower portion thereof when the lower portion is subject to thethrust of thematerial treated.

9. 1n a machine of the class described, the combination of an elongatedrelatively thin vibratory member disposed vertically edgewise, saidvibratory member constituting means for supporting forwardly thereof asubstantial mass of material treated 'as it is advanced against thesame, means for vibrating said vibratory member at high frequency,4means for supporting said vibratory member in upright position wherebyit tends to travel forwardly under the impulses of its vibrations, saidsupporting means including traveling supports and means connecting saidas it is advanced against the same, means for vibrating said vibratory-.member at high frequency, means for supporting said vibratory memberin upright position whereby it tends to travel forwardly under theimpulses of-its vibrations, said supporting means including travelingAamplitude substantially exceeding the amplitude of another portion, theweight serving to dampen the vibrations of excessive amplitude in the.portion of the vibrating member to which the weight is secured. r

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination of an elongatedrelatively thin vibratoryrmember disposed vertically edgewise, saidvibratory member constituting means for supporting forwardly thereof asubstantial mass of material treated as it is advanced against the same,an unbalanced rotor mounted von the vibratory member with its axisdisposed longitudinally thereof, form engaging members connected to saidvibratory mem-ber and acting to support ysaid vibratory member inupright position. and a weight `mounted on the vibratory member adjacentthe upper edge to substantially counteract the tendency of the portionof the vibratory member on which the weight is mounted to vibrate withgreater amplitude than the lower portion of the vibrating member beneaththe portion on which the weight is mounted under restraining effect ofthe thrust of material treated against the lower portion of thevibratory member as it is advanced against the material.

l2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of an elongatedvibratory lmember disposed vertically edgewise, said vibratory `member.constituting means for supporting forwardly thereof a substantial massAof material treated as it is advanced against the same, an unbalancedrotor mounted fon the vibratory member with its axis disposedlongitudinally thereof., and a weight mounted on the vibratory member insubstan tially spaced relation from said rotor and one of the oppositeends of the vibrating member to substantially counteract the tendency ofthe portion of the vibratory member on which the weight is mounted tovibrate with greater ampli tude than adjoining portions thereof.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination of aplank-'shaped vibratory member disposed vertically edgewise, saidvibratory member :constituting vmeans for supporting forwardly thereof asubstantial mass of material treated .as .it is advanced against thesame. means for vibrating said vibratory member, and means forharmonizing the vibrations of the vibratory member substantiallythroughout comprising Weights adjustably mounted Von the vibratorymember between said vibrating means and the opposite ends of thevibratory member land vin substantially spaced relation from saidvibrating means and in zones thereof tending to vibrate with greateramplitude than other zones.

CORWILL JACKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following .references are of record in the tile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Nains Date 1,550,102 Schlueter Aug. 18,1925 1,945,145 Gordon Jan. 30, 1934 2,110,413 Baily Mar. 8., 19382,219,246 Jackson Oct, 22, 1940 2,306,126 Jackson Dec. 22, 19422,322,362 Jacksonl.. f June 22, 1943

